Dogs understand verbal cues and can naturally pick up human body language. If you've been together a while, your dog probably understands a few of your gestures already. So the next time "Rover" responds to a hand wave and potters over to you - give yourself a mental pat on the back.

While all pets don't need to know them, hand signals are important for working dogs. Dogs that guide disabled people, hunt, guard, watch livestock, do rescue or police work, are taught a combination of hand and verbal cues to work better.

Unlike verbal cues, hands signs can be interpreted from a distance. They are a useful tool to train deaf or hyperactive dogs as an excited dog may not hear you but it will see you.

Can My Dog Learn Hand Signs?

If you have a puppy under training, you can teach it verbal and hand cues simultaneously. Puppies learn fast till the age of four months. Sprucing the training sessions with treats will hasten the learning process.

By age six months, your pup can be trained to understand a range of cues - verbal and physical.

Teaching your older dog to respond to hand signs is simple too. If your dog sees you make a sign repeatedly with a command, it begins to associate the two together.

When you reward it for responding to both the hand and verbal sign, your dog connects the reward to the sign and happily obeys. In a week or two, replace verbal signs with hand signs and your dog will continue to understand.

Basic Signage

The trick is consistency; assign a single, unmistakable gesture to each verbal command your dog knows. Consider three commonly used commands.

NO/STOP

Gesture - Hold hand firmly out from body with the palm facing the dog and all fingers pointing upwards

SIT/HEEL

Gesture - Hold out your hand with the palm facing downwards, and slowly move up and down to suggest the motion of sitting.

COME/HERE

Gesture - Hold hand at right-angle to shoulder with palm facing outwards. Move hand above head, waving gently.

1. Show your dog you have a treat for it in your hand so it watches you closely.

2. Initially use the gesture slowly each time you say the words. If your dog responds to the sign - give it the treat and pet it. If it doesn't respond immediately, be patient - every individual has a different learning curve.

3. Once the dog responds to both cues, drop the verbal cue and only make the hand signal.

If your smart pooch enjoys treats and attention, it will learn fast.